May Britt, Swedish Actress and Sammy Davis Jr.'s Ex-Wife, Dies at 91

May Britt, the Swedish-born actress who became the second wife of Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr., has died. She was 91. Britt died of natural causes on Dec. 11 at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles, her son Mark Davis told The Hollywood Reporter.

Born Maj-Britt Wilkens on the island of Lidingö in 1934, Britt was discovered by Italian filmmakers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati when she was 18. She appeared in Italian films before signing a contract with 20th Century Fox in 1957. She starred in The Hunters (1958) and played Marlon Brando's love interest in The Young Lions. Her breakout came as Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel, a role associated with Marilyn Monroe after Monroe reportedly turned it down. The film Murder, Inc. (1960) marked her last major screen work.

Britt first married Edwin Gregson in 1958; the couple divorced a year later. She met Davis after the singer performed at the Mocambo, a famed Los Angeles nightclub. Their engagement was announced in June 1960, amid backlash to an interracial marriage at a time when such unions faced legal and social obstacles in many states. The couple married in November 1960, with Britt then 26 and Davis 34. Their interracial nuptials generated public and political fallout, and reports at the time noted that Davis had been disinvited from John F. Kennedy's presidential inauguration after supporting the campaign. The couple faced death threats and required 24-hour security protection.

Britt and Davis had a daughter, Tracey, born in July 1961, and later adopted two sons, Jeff and Mark. The pair divorced in December 1968 amid persistent rumors of a affair involving dancer Lola Falana. Tracey Davis died in 2020 at age 59. Britt later married Lennart Ringquist in 1993; he died in 2017. She is survived by her two sons, sister Mary, and grandchildren. In addition to Murder, Inc., she appeared in The Hunters, The Young Lions, and The Blue Angel during a career that bridged European cinema and Hollywood contract filmmaking.

![May Britt wearing silk](